News of: Sunday, 16th of December, 2012

Front Page

Freedom, a many-splendoured thing, illuminated our lives on this day, on a declining winter afternoon, forty one years ago. It came suddenly and yet it had been a phenomenon we waited for in the preceding nine months.

Forty one years ago, Pakistani national Syed Asif Shahkar was branded as a traitor in his country for protesting the genocide in Bangladesh by the then Pakistani occupation army during the Liberation War in 1971.

In an apparent bid to back the home minister's December 11 claim of arrests in Biswajit murder case, police detained 14 persons. Ten were released hours after, but the rest are still languishing in prison despite having no criminal records.

A constitution constantly keeps evolving, but Bangladesh's constitution, which came into force on December 16, 1972, has largely been on a slide. Many cruel attacks on it by successive political and military regimes have by and large distorted its original vision and values.

Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman yesterday criticised the government for arguing about the identities of the killers of Bishwajit Das and demanded immediate trial of the perpetrators.

The body of nurse Jacintha Saldanha was on Friday flown to India, the Indian High Commission here said, as a fresh controversy erupted over the circumstances leading to her death following a newspaper report that a suicide note she left behind contained criticism of the Edward VII hospital staff, though details were not known.

The Kashmir valley remained cut-off from rest of the country for the second consecutive day yesterday, but improvement in weather has raised hopes of early restoration of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

Editorial

It is a remembrance of freedom's dawn yet once again. We stand on the threshold of the forty second year since achieving independence in the expectation that the goals for which we went to war against the Pakistan occupation army in 1971 will have come to fruition. It may well be argued, and with justification, that four decades and more are long enough a period for a nation's objectives to be attained. And yet, as we observe Victory Day today, we cannot but be assailed by the sad thought that all too often in all this time, our aspirations as a people have been rudely ridden roughshod over. If it has been extra-constitutionalism which has subverted our democratic hopes, the inability of democratically elected administrations to provide good governance to the nation has stymied our dreams of a just, equal society based on transparency and accountability. It is these thoughts --- and more --- which must be our predominant concern today.

Sports

Virat Kohli slammed a patient century while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed it by just one run as the duo showed admirable tenacity under pressure to lead a remarkable Indian fightback which has restored the balance in the fourth and final cricket Test against England at Nagpur on Saturday.

Rangpur Riders became the latest addition to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 as the entity's rights were sold by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for Tk 8.5 crores ( 1.01 millon dollars) to I Sports Limited at an auction conducted by event management company Game On Sports at the Dhaka Club yesterday.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is mulling bringing in a high-profile coach from the Netherlands to take over the national team, said the game's governing body's head Kazi Salahuddin yesterday. The BFF boss informed reporters at his office that they have a shortlist of four coaches to choose from -- former national team coach Djoran Djordjevic, a Turkish coach, and two Dutch coaches -- but the final negotiation might be done during his visit to the Netherlands on January 4 and 5. The BFF boss stopped short of saying any names, but said the coach will likely be a former Dutch international who is a recognised name in football.

Siddikur Rahman managed to make the cut in the Iskandar Johor Open as he negotiated the last five holes of the second round on Sunday on par. Siddikur was on one-under-par overnight after thirteen holes of the second round, and he came back to finish the last five holes without a birdie or a bogey which slated him at joint 59th on one-under-par 143.

The professional football league committee will sit for a meeting to review the crowd trouble of Friday and forward their findings to the disciplinary committee, said the committee's chairman Abdus Salam Murshedy.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has roped in Prime Bank as their latest partner in a bid for its overall development, especially to get the ball rolling at the district level, it was learnt. The deal, worth Tk 3 crores, will be used for the development of football, a big chunk of which will go to the district associations to run their leagues. Already Tk 1 lakh has been dispersed to 61 districts.

Bowing to pressure from players, the US Open will provide a rest day between next year's singles semi-finals and finals with the men's final moving to a Monday, the US Tennis Association (USTA) said on Friday.

Badda Jagoroni Sangsad earned a 1-0 win over Jatrabari Krira Chakra in the Popular Life Insurance Senior Division Football League at the Birshrestha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday. Probab Kumar scored the only goal of the match in the 88th minute. Motijheel T&T Club will face Mohakhali Ekadash in the lone fixture on Monday at the same venue.

Business

Bangladesh's garment industry can save at least $150 million a year by introducing an environment friendly production method, according to a study of the International Finance Corporation. Cleaner production will also make the industry more competitive in the global market, said the study.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc has begun discussions with other retailers that would force suppliers to pay for safety upgrades of overseas factories after a Bangladesh fire killed more than 100 people last month.

The fire that killed 112 workers in a factory producing for Walmart, Sears, Disney and other apparel corporations was the deadliest in the history of Bangladesh, but it was one in a long series of such fires and it will not be the last. The economic logic of the apparel industry, driven by the insatiable hunger of western apparel companies for cheap clothes, guarantees that many more workers will die.

India will speed up the sale of stakes in state companies to revive the stock market and will push ahead with reforms aimed at spurring an investment recovery in the flagging economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday.

Metropolitan

With a vow to establishing a non-communal and prosperous Bangladesh imbued with the spirit of independence, different government and political, social and cultural organisations will celebrate today the country's 41st anniversary of victory in the Liberation War.

Three of the four-member panel at a BBC Bangladesh Sanglap yesterday opined that the leakage of the Skype conversation between Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Ahmed Ziauddin would not raise questions about the ongoing war crimes trial.

New Delhi is engaged in negotiations with political parties to reach a consensus for parliamentary ratification of the crucial Land Boundary Agreement signed with Bangladesh, visiting Indian law Minister Ashwani Kumar said yesterday.

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Chittagong city and Jahangirnagar University (JU) units organised separate demonstrations yesterday demanding that the government expedites the war crimes trial and vowing to ward off anti-liberation forces trying to hinder the trial.

Indian Law and Justice Minister Dr Ashwani Kumar reiterated India's commitment to develop the best possible relations with Bangladesh in all fields based on the principles of mutual respect, benefits and sovereignty.

The Detective Branch (DB) of police has recovered five hijacked vehicles--three microbuses and two private cars--and rounded up four men of the gang, raiding different places in Pabna and Bogra between December 8 and December 13.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed her steadfast resolve to live up to the expectation of the international community by upholding the principles and values of equity, democracy, social justice, inclusive development and rule of law for which Bangladesh was born 41 years ago.

No government action is taken against the 30 percent of doctors who remain absent from work because their political affiliation places them above the law, said National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Mizanur Rahman yesterday.

Bangladesh Academy of Pathology (BAP) has recently been launched to achieve excellence in education, research and quality in the field of pathology, the study and diagnosis of diseases, in the country.

National

Crisis of quality seeds in the ongoing wheat cultivation season has become a cause of concern for farmers of Thakurgaon and Pachagarh districts as Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) could not supply sufficient quantity in the face of growing demand.

A union parishad member of Kawkhali upazila was injured in a gun attack by unidentified criminals at Daserkati in the upazila on Friday night. The victim was identified as Monir Hossain, 40, member of Sadar union of the upazila and resident of the area. Local sources said, a gang of criminals fired four shots at Monir, also organising secretary of upazila unit Sramik Dal, labour wing of opposition BNP, near his house at about 10pm when he was returning his house, leaving him injured. Two bullets hit in the head, said the sources. Monir was rushed to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.

Rail communication of Sylhet with Dhaka and other parts of the country was restored early Saturday after suspension of eight hours following derailment an express train near Shayestaganj junction. Local railway sources said two compartments of 'Jayantika Express' veered off the tracks at about 6.00 pm on Friday, disrupting train services on the Sylhet-Dhaka and Sylhet-Chittagong routes. A rescue train from Akhaura salvaged the derailed compartments. Later, the train service on the routes resumed at about 2:00 am.

A construction worker died from electrocution at Hatikata village in sadar upazila on Friday night. The deceased was identified as Kaba, 35, son of Awlad Hossain of Bhalaipur village in Alamdanga upazila. Witness said Kaba came in contact with a live electric wire while working at an under-construction building at the village, leaving him critically injured. Later he died on way to sadar hospital.

A housewife was beaten to death allegedly by her husband at Hasnabad in south Keraniganj on Friday noon. The victim was identified as Parvin Akter Shirin, 35, wife of Enayet Alamin of the area. Police, quoting locals, said following a quarrel over family feud, Enayet beat up Shirin mercilessly at about 12:15pm, leaving her severely injured. Family members rescued and sent her to a local clinic where the attending doctors declared her dead. On information, police rushed in and arrested Enayet.

International

A grieving President Barack Obama wiped away tears and struggled to compose himself Friday as he mourned the dead in the Connecticut school shooting, and promised "meaningful" action to stop gun tragedies.

The shooting spree in a Connecticut school that left 20 small children and six adults dead capped a tragic year for the US, which saw similar massacres in a Colorado theatre and Wisconsin gurdwara, putting pressure on the Obama administration to take action on the country's gun laws.

Syrian forces assaulted rebel areas southwest of Damascus and insurgents captured large parts of a military school in the north as the nation's conflict entered its 22nd month Saturday, activists said.

Travel between India and Pakistan will become easier with the operationalisation of a new visa regime on Friday that allows multi-city visas for up to five cities, visitor visas for two years for senior citizens and children below 12 years, visa on arrival for senior citizens, and group tourist visa, besides exempting specified categories of businessmen from police reporting.

Egyptians queued to vote yesterday on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation.

South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela yesterday underwent a successful procedure to remove gall stones, a week after he was admitted to hospital for a lung infection, the office of the president said.

India is investigating how Swedish-made weapons bought by its army turned up in Myanmar, a minister visiting Yangon said yesterday, denying New Delhi had supplied arms in contravention of EU sanctions.

Arts & Entertainment

Popular music director Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul is renowned for his evergreen compositions. In his illustrious career, Bulbul has directed music for over 350 movies. He is the lyricist of most of these songs. He has composed and written many remarkable adhunik and patriotic songs. His contribution to the music industry has earned him several honours including the National Film Award, the President's Award and the Shikha Anirban Award [the highest honour conferred by the Bangladesh Armed Forces]. Bulbul has won the BACHSAS Award 11 times.

Bangladesh has just entered the ripe age of 41 years. Over the last four decades the country has witnessed change in the form of progress in various areas. There have been a rising number of women working in various fields ranging from medicine to architecture, from education to journalism. Simultaneously, the country has taken a cultural leap as well. The role of women in the entertainment industry is undeniable.

OP-ED

Last week, political events in Bangladesh had been troubling. First there was the toxic oborodh (physical blockade) and then a full day of countrywide hartal followed by another one for half a day. In the 21st century such political tactics are not only out of date but also very costly economically. They were orchestrated by the opposition parties including BNP. The government reacted by deploying the police and other security agencies. The ostensible purpose was to contain any public violence and disruption to civic life. But the government party brought out its student front to contain any dissent on the streets. The police in this case stood by when these students took the law in their hands. This was evident when a person was hacked to death during hartal, which was recorded by the media but not stopped by the law enforcers. Later, some of the attackers were identified and arrested.

Having caught the international community off guard with its long-range rocket launch on Wednesday, North Korea is pushing neighbouring powers into another guessing game over whether it will go ahead with a third nuclear test. Pyongyang has a record of having done so in the wake of missile firings in 2006 and 2009.

Forty-one years ago, the misty winter morning of December 16, 1971, the day the nation celebrates as Victory Day, brought the glorious independence of Bangladesh. It was the day the whole nation had waited to see during nine months of genocide that the savage Pakistani occupation army launched to eliminate the ethnic Bengali nation. The massacre, taking a toll of 3 million lives, was unprecedented in the history of the world.

Bangladesh was born out of a war for freedom, democracy, social justice, self reliance and economic emancipation, what Andre Malraux once called "the last noble cause." After achieving independence and sovereignty in 1971, the densely populated nation has swung between hope and despair, between mass apathy and violence in the streets.

victory Day, which is an annual event of great historic significance, offers the nation an opportunity to evaluate its achievements and failures in the light of the aspirations and goals that had inspired it during the arduous struggle for freedom and independence.